Super Tiny Computer Puts Android on Your TV, Laptop

amazing.

If you can use it to read email, use a word processing program, update Facebook, and play Angry Birds it's good enough for 90% of home computer users. No it cannot play Crysis 1 or 2.

I love my android tablet the idea that i could carry one around in some thing the size as a usb and attach it to any thing that has a HDMI is a big plus for me. Many people wont agree but in my opinion this is a SUPER media PC get netflex , facebook and a web browsing app and you basically have every thing most people build a media pc for any way. This is in most cases gonna be cheaper , take up less space and probably use less power. I think I'm going to get flack for this but I feel for 95% of people this is basically the same as a 400-500 desktop they would get at best buy * from there perspective* . I plan to buy at least 3-4 , 1 one for my den's flat screen and a couple as gifts for my less tech savvy family members when I tell them they can check there email , face book status and watch some movies with out a ton of cables or a big box they may explode from excitement.

how will it get internet?

Read : 802.11 b/g/n Wifi
?

Great idea, but the $200 price point may be a non-starter. An entry-level Roku for $50 gives you Netflix and other Internet channels; the top-end Roku gets you Angry Birds for less than $200. The killer 'app' for the FXI device might be its the web browser, but an Asus Revo can be had off eBay for less than $200 (and comes with a much larger storage device) and its browser would be probably be more secure (easier to update). Of course, the Revo (or any other media PC) would consume more power than this ARM-based device.

Cool A good way to revive those old(non-web) LCD/LED TVs.

Quite nice. Something else occurs to me as well:

Can this lead to upgradeable smartphones???

Upgradeable and interchangeable smartphone modules FTW! Added bonus: pull it out and stick it into any TV or display.

Use a USB adapter : )

Oh well. No Crysis...yet.

Sure, why not, but that's what we already do. My vision does not require an adapter, though, especially that makers do not include anything extra, not even with flagship models... Not to mention that it's way cooler

I mean, sure, my phone has Kies Air and Allshare, and they work fine over wifi, but these features anre by no means common, or prevalent.

don't like the USB part!
I had hoped the device could be plugged into a USB HUB (like the raspberry), and connect a keyb-mouse to it!

Now that's a something to go gaga about. Imagine connecting them into one another or like on a USB hub , computing power might be close to making the most energy efficient super computer that would fit into a garage instead of a huge building with 5 MW of power consumption... eh?

Loaded per square inch!

I don't really have a clue why people are amazed by this ;-)
It's an Adroid device without display, other than being small there is nothing revolutionary about it from the technology point of view.

For a product it could be a brilliant idea, and I'm sure there will be enough people who would love to have a super small android stick to plug into their TV. But the details on this is not even there, HDMI sure, but how about input devices? How do you plan to control that using your TV? ;-)

Of-course the idea of using the host's peripherals work when you stick this to a laptop, this is again nothing new though.

It's just another "set-up" box

Input comes from Bluetooth devices

that being said, is this a android, that i can plug into my computer, and run apps off of it that are on android market? because if it is, i have a use for it.

is hdmi powered? how would it get power in hdmi?

will this stream 1080p off netflix? does it see the display resolution and we get a 1080p version or will it be its own resolution reguardless?

can this see my network and stream video from my pc to the tv?

these are the questions we should be asking.

Third time I am hearing these USB stick PCs. First this lad with charity idea; later NVidia with their plans, now this. Great and all but when are we going to have it? Next year? Next year we might already have TVs with Google OS (check Sony Bravia and Google TV).
I want it now, I want it functional and reliable. Next year is no good. It will be old news.

requireing the purchase of a new tv, a 200$ purchase, over a 600$+ new tv you dont need... not includeing if its marked up just because it has a buzz word like google tv in it.

I agree with you 100%. It is good for those who already have TVs. Then again, $200 seems a bit steep. IMO.. I am in a process of getting a new TV and I will not do so until they will implement Cinema 3D glasses and make Google on it.

USB2.0?! If it is possible, upgrade to USB3.0 for much much more performance (and hoping the price not to sky-rocket)
P.S. Finally, someone good enough to come up with such nice product!

I wouldn't want a processor built into my tv. A tv should last 6-8 years or more..... a processor will be out of date in 1-2 years, especially these ARM processors which are making improvements every year. You would end up with a tv with a lame duck processor in it. The USB model makes a lot more sense to me anyway.

Good point.

damn thats better than my laptop

this is cool.

What I would like is something like that but is self powered, or uses a small power connector and simply attaches into a dvi or vga port in the back of the monitor, so If I am studying and don't want the louder gaming PC running, I can switch the monitor to the vga or some other input and have a basic system running android

but having something that needs another computer to be running for it to be used is stupid.
thats like attaching a 4 door sedan to a bicycle and calling it a motorcycle.

you are connecting a lesser device to a greater functioning device fur the purpose of using the lesser device.
why not save the money and simply run android in a virtual machine?

anyway if it is cheap enough (eg sub $60 since a decent android phone with a touch screen and all other functions can be had for under $100)

then it may be good for functions such as a backup system, if your monitor has a built in USB hub, or if the device can some with a adapter like how an ipod comes with the wall charger, then you can simply connect it to a tv or extra monitor port.

What I would like to see is USB host support, eg a Y adapter from the power adapter, allowing the power to be shared but the data pins are go directly from the device, to the other connector in the Y adapter, allowing you to attach it to a USB hub and connect various other devices such as flash drives, mice, keyboards and probably a usb speaker system

(The USB host on the HP touchpad works this way)

"A tv should last 6-8 years or more..... a processor will be out of date in 1-2 years, especially these ARM processors which are making improvements every year. You would end up with a tv with a lame duck processor in it. The USB model makes a lot more sense to me anyway."

What are you planning to do with it?? I just setup an 8 year old computer [P4-2.2] as a computer for internet use. It would certainly play basic games fine. So long as in 6-7 years you aren't planning on it being like a PS4 that is built in to your TV, I don't see how it'll make a lot of difference.

If you don't want to ever upgrade your tv, that's your choice of course. I just finally threw out an old tv I had from 1985. I doubt I would want a computer from then. But whatever bud do whatever you want with YOUR money and I'll do the same.

try thinking of it like this. if that arm can already support 1080p playback, you are basicly set. i mean this in the puropse of just being a tv device that streams to it. extras like angry birds may be nice, but the main function is internet streaming. if this takes off at all, most places will create an app for it specifically. and if it can handle 1080p, there is little need for it to be better.

again this is in the context of tv and what a tv is typicly used for, not a computer built into a tv.




you are thinking of android phones on a contract, and mass produced, and i have use for apps on android, which aren't also made for the pc to my knowlege, granted im going to be looking for them/equilivalnt in the coming weeks.




i had a p4 3.0 or 3.2 ht before the motherboard died and i moved to a phenom 955. the p4 could not handle the internet as it is today, and would consistently hit 100% usage if even 1 flash thing was used. granted if you want to scale the internet back a bit it was serviceable.

but the internet is a side feature to video playback on tv with this.

ks. i had a p4 3.0 or 3.2 ht before the motherboard died and i moved to a phenom 955. the p4 could not handle the internet as it is today, and would consistently hit 100% usage if even 1 flash thing was used. granted if you want to scale the internet back a bit it was serviceable.but the internet is a side feature to video playback on tv with this.[/citation]



I'm not disagreeing exactly-- just saying that it's sounds like you'd be suprised how capable old CPUs are as far as basic computing goes.

Likewise-- if you were still suing your 1985 TV, it didn't support HD and [probably] didn't have anything but a coax-in on it, so was perhaps a little limiting as far as what you could hook up to it. Relative to a modern TV with a similar screen size, I bet it drew several times the power as well.

For basic TV viewing, maybe in a guest room, where it saw only a couple of hours of use a year it served a purpose and worked, so no point in replacing -- isn't that exactly the point I was making about CPUs???

I'm certainly not saying that a 10 year old PC is the right machine to be a primary computer for everyone-- for me it is probably loosely tied for third with my 3-year-olds netbook [behind a dual core laptop and an iPad].

For my mom or grandmother? It'd be perfectly acceptable for primary use. For most Tom's readers? It'd range from probably where I am using it [an extra computer in the house] to something that gets tossed in the trash

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"ks. i had a p4 3.0 or 3.2 ht before the motherboard died and i moved to a phenom 955. the p4 could not handle the internet as it is today, and would consistently hit 100% usage if even 1 flash thing was used. "

In my experience, a fresh install of the OS [and/or very cheap RAM upgrade] usually makes a huge difference on "older" sluggish computers.

Tablets that do the same thing cost $100. Why pay more for less?